Some February Football Nuggets.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:03 PM ^
Always hungry for good info. I have to admit t that I am a little surprised that Higdon won the RB (my guess would have been Evans by a hair over Higdon). But yes the talent level that JH is bringing in is simply awesome.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:07 PM ^
McDooooooooooooom didn't win among WRs
February 25th, 2017 at 11:39 PM ^
I would have pegged him the burner.
February 26th, 2017 at 1:19 AM ^
Thought it would be DPJ, isn't he EE?
February 25th, 2017 at 11:43 PM ^
Should be a fun RB comp.
February 26th, 2017 at 9:27 AM ^
When the team did 200 Evans was 2nd fastest on the entire team.
That said, 40 would be a better measure. Regardless, both can hit the hole and get upfield. I'm going to miss De'Veon going BEASTMODE on people left and right, but it'll be nice to have some pure speed in the backfield. Haven't had that since "shoelaces flapping in the wind!"
February 25th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^
and where the hell is umbig11?!?
I kid, I kid. Thanks for the info.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:14 PM ^
Also totally expected umbig11 when i saw thread. Let's hope we have a new source akin to umbig11.
Thanks for the snapshot.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:16 PM ^
I'm guessing he either wore number 14, or graduated in '14. Hopefully 2014, opposed to 1914.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:30 PM ^
If we had an active MgoBlogger that graduated college in 1914, I want to hear everything they have to say.
February 26th, 2017 at 11:03 AM ^
Well, he didn't graduate in 2014.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:29 PM ^
I believe he is a former coach of Karan's, if I'm not mistaking him for another username around here.
February 26th, 2017 at 2:29 AM ^
Ah, the guy who was plugging Higdon on here trying to get the staff to take note? What a ridiculous and crazy way to get attention... and it seems to have worked. Props for that.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^
Young and Fun. How great is that !! Good stuff.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:14 PM ^
I could care less who is fastest in 200 yard runs. All that tell's us who has the most endurance. I want 40 yard times, that's when you'll see McDoom and Evans shine.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:40 PM ^
I'll remember you when one of the punt team gunners runs down a returner just before scoring a return TD, strips said returner, and proceeds to return it 99 yards to the opposite endzone.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:40 PM ^
Karan has beaten Chris 3 out of 3 now.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:03 AM ^
Chris has some wheels.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:14 AM ^
Not to take away from Karan, but there's 40 times then football times and when I watch tape Evans gets to his gear very fast, and that may just be Higdon being a more patient runner.
February 26th, 2017 at 1:05 AM ^
Along with patience (the best RB ability IMO), there's also run blocking. And catching the ball. And holding on to the ball. And a host of other things. If it was all about speed, Denard would be slaying it as an RB in the NFL. Straight line speed might be the least important RB trait.
February 26th, 2017 at 4:36 AM ^
Mike Hart says hello.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:48 AM ^
This is why I feel like it's much more of a wide open race at RB than it seems. Would not be surprised at all if Evans remained a situational threat and someone else took the bulk of the carries.
February 26th, 2017 at 11:06 AM ^
I think it's wide open because Evans probably can't handle a huge workload. We need several contributors.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:37 AM ^
How come no one does the circle drill for testing speed? You ever play duck duck goose in a circle? A real test of speed, coordination and athleticism would be to see who runs around a circle say with a circumference of 40 yards. Go around that a few times and you'll see who the studs are. Not everyone gets to run the curve in the 4x1 relay on the track boys and that isn't even sharp!
February 26th, 2017 at 12:04 PM ^
Endurance isn't much of a factor for decently in shape, non-lineman sized people in a 200 yard run. 200m is the second shortest sprint in outdoor track in field for most organizations.
February 26th, 2017 at 1:16 PM ^
"could care less".
I couldn't care less about the rest of your post.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:16 PM ^
Because I feel like with no Championship or Bust expectations, we can all breathe a little easier watching the Wolverines from week to week. It's a plus having MSU and OSU both at home again too rather than sending a young team out on the road. These next 180ish days can't move quickly enough!
February 25th, 2017 at 11:28 PM ^
I don't know if I'm supposed to feel good or bad about our only areas of concern being the defensive backfield and the offensive line.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:31 AM ^
Yeah, is there still any chance of Aaron Cochran? It's great to have a young, talented team, but if we're getting torched downfield while also unable to protect the QB, that's not a winning combination.
February 26th, 2017 at 9:06 AM ^
I just searched Google and there doesn't appear to be any info on Cochran or Fruhmorgan's destinations. Fruhmorgen would have to sit a year.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:50 AM ^
Outside of maybe QB, those are pretty much the worst two things to be concerned about for a team.
February 25th, 2017 at 11:37 PM ^
MM14 I believe is the guy who brought Higdon to attention of Singletary and helped guide him away from the cornfields of Iowa.
As stated in OP, live and die in '17 with the OL on offense. You can win a lot with young skill positions if talented; pretty tough with a young OL. I feel a bit more sanguine about the DBs just because there are so many of them and quite a few were highly ranked you hope just by chance the odds fall into your favor esp at CB.... but there will be a learning curve for sure. Thankfully the Big 10 is not a conference like Big 12 or Pac 12 where there are a lot of workhorses at QB. And #ChaosTeam is now full Debord so that's one less one to worry about with legit QBs.
March thru spring game is the time for hype and building everything up with breathless practice whispers! Watching the very young offense go vs what should still be a good defense in the spring game is the time we say "offense is way behind defense - no worries bro. Off to the submarine."
Just beat OSU again in my lifetime guys....
February 26th, 2017 at 12:29 AM ^
Hard to agree with the different points of a post more than I agree with this, especially the first half. I think our QB situation will be markedly improved and I love the talent we have waiting to step in at the skill positions (though the Asiasi loss stings at TE). It's all on the OL, and what known quantities we have there haven't given us tremendous reason for optimism.
The talent at DB is hard to read because the guys that left were so good, which means a dropoff is inevitable but also that there might be some real stuff waiting in the wings. And guys like Hill and Long have both talent and some time in the system to learn.
So it's all about the OL. And I love getting snippets of stuff like the Gary hype we've seen whispers of.
One disagreement:
Your autocorrect appears to have turned "Just beat OSU this year" into something else. Ah well, that's how it goes.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:56 AM ^
It's funny that in a sentence about autocorrect, your autocorrect mistakenly changed it from "Just beat OSU every year".
February 25th, 2017 at 11:50 PM ^
The sky's the limit. Agree with OP, this team will be fun to watch for the foreseeable future. Speed and atheleticism. Do want!
Hoping to head to Arlington to see us stomp Florida.
GO BLUE!!
February 26th, 2017 at 12:04 AM ^
Spring should be fun!
February 26th, 2017 at 12:53 AM ^
I'd take solid OL play over solid QB play any day. I'd probably also take solid OL play over mediocre QB play.
February 26th, 2017 at 8:27 AM ^
College qb makes all the difference
February 26th, 2017 at 12:07 AM ^
Thanks MM14. Nice post.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:08 AM ^
Is this a "Bill Walsh" or "new age" west coast system? I do remember seeing Nico Collins say he was told by coaches more 3-4 WR sets so I believe it means shotgun west coast system.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:37 AM ^
3-4 WR sets makes a lot of sense, especially with Asiasi bolting and the talent we have outside. Not sure how this translates to "West Coast," exactly. Properly speaking, the West Coast offense is an offense build on timing and short passes, a specific mechanic for how plays are built and combined, using a language derived from Bill Walsh and his coaching tree.
However, practically speaking, "West Coast Offense" is a name people put on a lot of passing heavy offenses, especially ones operating from under center, that has little to do with the actual system employed. Much the same way "spread" is used to refer to systems as different as the Air Raid and the Urban Meyer power run offense.
My guess from the different sources is that Michigan is emphasizing the pass more, with more WRs, and if shotgun is used more, great. If this is true, that tells me that Harbaugh knows that the OL is going to be a problem and that he is taking presumptive steps to deal with it (a natural consequence would be a lot of short passes, so there you go). Also, that he has a lot of confidence in Speight to be able to handle the increased workload.
This... is not a bad idea at all. The result might wind up looking a lot like the Gronk-less Patriots.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:58 AM ^
I think you're right with a Gronkless Pats expectation. They don't have an established OL or any sort of proven workhorse at RB, but they do have a lot of young weapons at WR and some good situational weapons in the backfield. Going situationally quick tempo and throwing lots of weapons out there and deploying crazy Harbaugh formations could prove to be pretty successful.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:15 PM ^
Pats OL went from really bad last year to actually one of the better OLs in the league this year, and that was the difference in winning the AFC. If our OL made the same improvement from last year to this year as the Pats' did, then we will be in the title game next January.
February 26th, 2017 at 2:48 PM ^
Getting Dante Scarnecchia (OL coach) to come out of retirement certainly did not hurt.
February 26th, 2017 at 3:28 PM ^
It made, seemingly, all the difference. Marcus Cannon took a HUGE step forward. Incredible that A) Scarnecchia can make that great a difference and B) that BB can just tell a retired person to unretire and he does it, no questions asked, and comes back and has one of his better years as a coach.
No professional sports organization is run as well as the Pats are.
February 26th, 2017 at 4:33 AM ^
I really hope this is what Harbaugh is doing because then it will be really refreshing to have a coaching staff adjust to their personnel. Much better than the Hoke/Borges adjustment strategy of "try more Manball"
February 26th, 2017 at 6:27 AM ^
I don't know that it means anything about Harbaugh's thoughts on the OL. That's certainly a possibiity. But an offensive coach and QB guru with the recruiting resources of Michigan doesn't need any further prompting then letting his playcalling imagination run. He loves the passing game and he loves innovation, and that could be the reason full stop.
I think it's equally possible he has a QB that he really trusts, in terms of understanding the sets, getting people lined up, and knowing where he's supposed to go with the football. Having that asset available seems as likely a driver of a system change than a liability on the OL.
February 26th, 2017 at 8:51 AM ^
You can't run a true west coast offense using 3-4 WR under center that would be more of a single back offense, that's why I believe it's the new age spread west coast which ironically Urban Meyer is credited for the offense.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:31 AM ^
It's interesting how much we loaded up on the TE position before this recruiting cycle but now may move to an offense that utilizes TE's less and WR's more. Are we still going to have the multiple TE sets? That would be nuts to see 4 wide sets one play and a 3 TE set the next.
February 26th, 2017 at 12:39 AM ^
Sounds like my NCAA14 offense!